The Hindu Business Line : Poultry shops sport a new look as hatcheries embark on brand awareness

POULTRY shops are sporting a new look as leading broiler chick producers push for improved facilities in local butcher shops to promote meat sales and brand awareness.

Initially, the hatcheries' idea is to improve hygiene and presentation in the shops but the long-term goal is to increase brand awareness, stabilise prices and encourage poultry consumption.

Some of the leading broiler chicken producers, including the Coimbatore-based Suguna Poultry Farms Ltd, are investing significant sums to put up bright, plastic backlit name boards at local butcher shops.

Suguna Poultry Farms views it as a brand promotion exercise for its Ross brand of broilers. Broiler shops under its fold would exclusively sell Suguna Chicken from the international broiler stock, Ross.

The Pune-based Venkateshwara Hatcheries Ltd is carrying out this marketing exercise through BroMark, the All India Broiler Farmers Marketing Cooperative Ltd promoted by it.

However, according to a shop-owners association, the Poult and Poulterers Association of Chennai, the breed name Vencobb is prominently displayed to increase brand awareness. Many integrated broiler chick suppliers, including Venkateshwara, Suguna, Pioneer and Shanthi have embarked on this market improvement programme.

Mr B. Soundararajan, Managing Director, Suguna Poultry Farms Ltd, said they had budgeted over Rs 5 crore this year for the programme. They have registered over 10,000 shops in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra and provided the distinctive name boards to over 3,000 shops. The next step would be classes on hygiene and clean processing practices in the sale of dressed chicken. Meetings with butchers are being organised and this has had some effect in major cities, he said.

Suguna's Ross broilers enjoy 40 per cent market share globally. In India, 15 per cent of the 3 crore broilers produced each week by the poultry farmer is the breed supplied by Suguna Poultry Farms.

Suguna Chicken has 4 - 5 per cent more meat content, including breast meat, according to Mr Soundararajan.

Venkateshwara Hatcheries Ltd, which enjoys about 80 per cent market share, has put up over 1,500 name boards at neighbourhood butcher shops in South India, company officials said. BroMark, a marketing cooperative for broiler farmers, does not push for exclusivity.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
To cut losses of PSU oil companies — Govt hints at price hike for petro-products

Mounting losses on petro-products sale — IOC puts on hold Paradip refinery and petrochem project

Sakhalin-1 to pump oil in Oct

No revving up yet

`Malaysia would like to see India as its hub for palm oil'

Poultry shops sport a new look as hatcheries embark on brand awareness

Cabinet clears new minimum price for sugarcane

ICICI Bank to divest entire stake in Federal Bank, SIB

The FII flood is unabated, but for how long?

Ask and you will get credit card fee waived